22 Best Restaurants in Blue Hill Peninsula, Maine

This place offers amazing (and equitably sourced) coffee and invites you to take a minute to have a conversation while you wait for your slow-pour brew to flow through a colorful, custom-built wooden drip bar. Grab a pastry supplied by a variety of local bakers---if there are any left when you arrive. 

Executive chef and proprietor Devin Finigan has created magic in this location with endless views of East Penobscot Bay and food that speaks to the prowess of this region’s fishermen and farmers. Whether you're experiencing the chef’s tasting menu—think scallops with sorrel and whey; Wagyu with ramps and new potato; and rhubarb with lemon and shortbread—Sunday a-la-carte brunch (seasonal), or a summer happy hour, you’re in for a high-quality treat.

Glowing gas fireplaces, period antiques, exposed beams, and hardwood floors covered with Asian rugs make the the candlelit dining areas in this historic house elegant but homey. The menu features dishes made with such ingredients as carrots and apples from Horsepower Farm; mesclun from Carding Brook Farm in Brooklin; and mussels, scallops, and clams from Blue Hill Bay. 

This tidy little joint next to the reversing falls on the Bagaduce River is the perfect place for a lunch of clam, shrimp, haddock, or scallop baskets that come with onion rings or chips; there are also hot dogs, burgers, and chicken fingers. Picnic tables dot this nub of land surrounded on three sides by water, and you can walk onto the pier (or moor your kayak or boat there) for tidal estuary views and glimpses of seals, bald eagles, and ospreys. At low tide kids can explore the shore.

Like the inn that houses it, this restaurant was modernized in 2021. Items on its changing menu feature local and seasonal produce and might include oysters with fish sauce mignonette, heirloom tomato gazpacho, or seared duck breast with polenta. Its bar menu offers small production wines, Maine craft beer, and creative spirits. You can sit in the dining room, bar, or garden.

This tiny, friendly shop serves big, flavorful coffee and interesting sweet and savory pastries.

This well-established restaurant got a major overhaul in the spring of 2022 when formerly New York–based restaurateur Max Katzenberg took over and recruited Southern chef Taylor Hester. It offers Maine classics like Stonington Lobster Rolls and MDI mussels, as well littleneck clams linguine, New York strip steak au poivre, and family-size plates of Southern fried chicken. The beverage menu includes local beer, craft cocktails, and natural wines. 

This long-time Main Street greasy spoon got a face-lift and a menu upgrade when Brooklyn restaurateur Max Katzenberg reopened it in 2022. The breakfast menu has all the traditional offerings as as well a few extras like huevos rancheros and chicken and waffles, while the lunch and dinner menu features local seafood dishes and carnitas tacos, and fried chicken.

This upscale but relaxed place has a long list of farm- or sea-to-table small plates. Supplementing the well-curated selection of wines is a menu of craft cocktails and local beers.

Housed in the Blue Hill Co-Op Community Market, this is a prime place for soups, sandwiches, and pastries. The bread selection alone is worth a stop.

Tinder Hearth is well known in these part for its amazing pastries and wood-oven-baked breads, but it also makes pizza that's delicious enough to plan your whole week around—a must given that you have to reserve your pie days in advance. It's worth the bother, though, as the crust is thin but chewy, and the toppings are a mix of the classic and the inventive. Other options on the menu include local beer, good wine, oysters, and ice cream.

Enjoy this inn restaurant's small-plate dishes, local beers, and craft cocktails in the quiet dining room or the rustic pub.

Follow the granite walkway to reach this fine-dining gem tucked behind Buck's Harbor Market, which is a good place to stock up on pantry staples and Maine-produced food products. The seasonal menu centers on seafood, but lamb and beef are regularly on offer.

Burritos, bowls, nachos, empanadas, and tacos filled with crab, fish, lobster, or meat and served with a full range of fiery accoutrement are made fresh daily at this taqueria, whose name is a play on L.L. Bean!

Perched on a hill overlooking Stonington Harbor, diners can watch lobster boats unload their daily haul and enjoy the sounds of seagulls and foghorns in the distance while dining on dishes made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. The appetizers and main courses center on seafood and the wood-fired pizzas coming out of the kitchen include the Garden Gnome (mushroom, caramelized onion, and ricotta) and the Seapig (scallop, applewood bacon, ricotta, and maple drizzle).  

Whether you're stopping by on your way to Little Deer Island or on your way off it, the Maine lobster rolls and freshly fried seafood baskets are worth the detour (there is an additional fee for takeout). Enhanced by the view of the Deer Isle Bridge over Eggemoggin Reach, don't miss the daily specials, delicious milk shakes (worth the calories), or nonseafood items (like beef and veggie burgers). 

In summer, this former island innkeeper sells yummy and quick eats, many of them made with fish from local waters and her own organic garden produce. Her "food truck" (actually a tow trailer) is parked in the Island Store parking lot on Isle au Haut. She sells lobster rolls, naturally, but you might try her deep-fried haddock sandwich.

Open for breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch, this place has a mix of standard and surprising offerings, including a great falafel platter. If you want dinner, you can select from such house-made frozen dishes as beef stew, vegetable and cheese enchiladas, or Georgia onion pie. In summer, the café occasionally hosts special concert lunches and dinners (reservations required).

The long menu has all the Thai favorites (some of them gluten-free), from pad Thai and noodle soups to traditionally prepared seafood, chicken, beef, and duck entrées. Dine in the bright and airy dining room or out on the deck with its bright red chairs and umbrellas.

Good beer, pizza, and, occasionally, live music—it's a combination the fits perfectly into a lazy day of lazily exploring the Blue Hill Peninsula.

This full-service restaurant replicates the famous food truck (a trailer, really) by the same name that is parked on Isle au Haut. The menu consists of yummy rolls, sandwiches, and baskets, most of them featuring seafood from local waters.

Run by the fine folks at The Pilgrim Inn, the tavern and its Biergarten are a great place to stop for a pint of one of the many Maine craft beers on tap. The menu features classic pub fare as well as fresh seafood and smoked barbecue.